The invention concerns a device for the manual production of digital pulses for input into a storage constructed as an electronic forward-backward counter.
In such devices, an actuating element is connected mechanically with at least one pulse-producing element, a number of pulse-receiving elements and an evaluating logic whereby, when rotating the actuating element, individual pulses or pulse trains can be generated with the pulse-receiving elements and which, depending on the direction of rotation of the actuating element, can be counted into the forward counting input or the backward counting input of the storage.
Such devices are already well known. For example, from German DE-PS 25 40 486 which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,612 of the present applicant, an indicator-correcting device can be derived which features a pulse frequency for correction of the display. Characteristic for this pulse generator is a pulse wheel which can be driven manually or mechanically with a number of pulseproducing elements arranged on it and further a sensing element interacting with the pulse wheel and a pulse converter element interacting with the latter for production of electrical pulses. The pulse wheel can be turned in contact with the sensing element by means of an actuating element which is connected mechanically with the pulse wheel whereby individual pulses or pulse trains can be produced and whose frequency is a function of the rotating speed of the actuating element.
These individual pulses or pulse trains, depending on the direction of rotation of the actuating element can be counted either into the forward counter input or the backward counter input of a storage constructed as a forwardbackward counter and can, for example, be used for correction or for adjustment, as the case may be, of a digital display. The production of the electrical pulses can proceed electrooptically, electromagnetically or electromechanically according to DE-PS 25 40 486 which is incorporated herein by reference.
Basically, the pulse-producing elements are arranged on a pulse wheel on a circular path perpendicular to the rotating axis. It thereby must result that the pulse generator constructed in this manner in the plane of the pulse wheel occupies a relatively large space because, advantageously, a number of pulse-producing elements are arranged on the pulse wheel and interact with at least one, preferentially a number of, pulse-receiving elements which have to be arranged on the periphery of the pulse wheel.
Pulse generators of this type are difficult to accommodate in essentially flat housings, chiefly wristwatch housings or integrated electronic modules, since the rotating axis interacting with the pulse wheel is arranged in the plane of the flat watch housing and thus no space is available perpendicular to the rotating axis for the pulse wheel
The object of the present invention is to provide a device for the manual production of digital pulses which is constructed extremely compact with respect to a space axis perpendicular to a rotating axis which interacts mechanically with an actuating element and at least one pulse-producing element. By this device, it should be possible to produce a number of pulses with one rotation of the rotating axis and, further, it should be possible to manufacture the device as inexpensively as possible from a few parts and in an especially simple way.